An electronic device, such as a mobile phone (e.g. smartphone), tablet computer, laptop computer, or the like, may incorporate various types of connectors for selective interconnection of the electronic device with other electronic devices and/or peripheral devices. The connectors may be embedded in the housing of the device, e.g. along an edge of the device. Interconnection of devices via such connectors may electrically connect or integrate the devices to provide complementary functions and may physically interconnect the devices.
Some connectors are mechanical and rely upon friction to maintain a connection. For example, a physical Universal Serial Bus (USB) 3.0 connector may conform to one of a number of industry-defined form factors, such as those referred to as Standard-A or Standard-B for example. Two devices, each having female USB 3.0 connectors conforming to either of those standards, may be electrically interconnected using a wire or cable terminated by complementary male connectors. The male connectors are physically inserted into their female counterparts and are held in place by friction.
Other connectors are magnetic. For example, commercially available MagSafe™ and MagSafe2™ connectors use magnetic attraction to maintain an electrical connection. A pair of complementary connectors (i.e. mating connectors) of this type may include a male connector having a short protrusion and a magnetized female connector having a receptacle or seat for receiving the protrusion. The male connector may be at the end of a wire or cable, and the female connector may be embedded in the housing of an electronic device.
Magnetic connectors may also be used to physically interconnect devices without a cord, with or without establishing an electrical interconnection between the devices.
It may be difficult to align connectors for interconnection, e.g. when connectors are visually obscured or when precise alignment is required for establishing a physical or electrical connection. Misalignment may interfere with proper physical or electrical interconnection of devices.